TB Prevention

This report provides World Health Organization (WHO) member states with guidance on preventing TB transmission in healthcare facilities, congregate settings, and households. It focuses on what to do and how to prioritize TB infection control at national levels and includes recommendations for national managerial activities. The report updates or presents new or increased emphasis on the particular administrative and environmental controls to be implemented and on personal protective equipment. It includes a special focus on building design and use of space.

This information sheet discusses preventing occupational transmission of TB by means of an infection control program. It explains the three levels of TB infection control in health care settings: (1) administrative controls to minimize areas where exposure may occur; (2) environmental controls to reduce the concentration of airborne TB bacteria; and (3) respiratory protective equipment to be used in situations that pose a high risk of exposure.

This information sheet discusses the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for TB disease, which is used in many countries to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease. It explains why the BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States; suggests that the BCG should be considered under specific circumstances; and provides recommendations for when the BCG should be used with children and health care workers and contraindications when it should not be used, such as for immunosuppressed persons and pregnant women.

This information sheet discusses the need for individuals with latent TB infection (LTBI) to get treatment and prevent the progression of LTBI to TB disease. It emphasizes the importance of the health care provider communicating the value of LTBI treatment and of identifying barriers to adherence. The information sheet also lists strategies for maximizing adherence including collaborating with community agencies and partnering with local health departmetns and community based organizations that can provide needed resources.

Using a question-and-answer format, this pamphlet provides general information about TB, including transmission, symptoms, and the difference between TB infection and disease. The pamphlet explains both a blood and skin test, the procedures that are followed if the test result is negative or positive, and treatment for both TB infection and TB disease.

This fact sheet discusses TB and how it is affected by the HIV. It defines TB and explains the difference between TB infection and latent TB infection. The fact sheet advises that HIV weakens the immune system increasing the chance that in people with HIV and latent TB, the TB germs will become active and attack the body causing TB disease. It emphasizes the importance of TB treatment and taking the TB drugs as prescribed.

This information sheet discusses TB and the risk for international travelers. It explains TB transmission, multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of the disease, and how drug resistance occurs. The information sheet considers whether international travelers are at risk of MDR or XDR TB while traveling, the risk of acquiring TB on an airplane, how TB can be prevented, TB vaccine, and what an individual should do before traveling internationally and if an individual thinks that he/she may have been exposed to someone with TB disease.

This information sheet discusses TB and the risk for international travelers. It explains TB transmission, multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of the disease, and how drug resistance occurs. The information sheet considers whether international travelers are at risk of MDR or XDR TB while traveling, the risk of acquiring TB on an airplane, how TB can be prevented, TB vaccine, and what an individual should do before traveling internationally and if an individual thinks that he/she may have been exposed to someone with TB disease.

This document is intended for use as a reference manual for clinicians caring for persons with or at high risk for TB disease or infection. It is not meant to provide detailed answers to all public health or clinical questions about TB, and it is not meant as a substitute for any specific guidelines.